Sunset/Sunrise photography

What are the best tips for this type of photography, in the knowledge that:

A) I have really limited experience of doing sunset/sunrise photography

B) The type of filters I would need for, if I needed them

Well, this is probaably obvious, but you need to have your camera ready when the sun sets / rises, so make sure you get there a bit early to set up.

I am thinking of joining this photographic meet up, who are doing an all-nighter so to speak, i.e. from sunset to sunrise photographic challenge, if you get what I mean

400dabuser wrote in post #8020764
What are the best tips for this type of photography, in the knowledge that:

A) I have really limited experience of doing sunset/sunrise photography

B) The type of filters I would need for, if I needed them

Graduated ND filters are very useful to balance a bright sky with darker foreground and expose both correctly. Exposure bracketing followed by manual blending or HDR is another approach.

A tripod is necessary as your shutter speeds will be relatively long.

Shoot RAW in case you need to make exposure adjustments during PP.

Scout for good locations during the day to find good foreground interest. A colourful sky with a boring foreground doesn't make a good shot (unless you're an amateur with a P&S camera).

Good luck!

Chris
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www.chrisgin.com

I'm no expert, but here are some things that I've learnt.

Firstly, you'll need some luck. With our weather you never know what you'll get in the morning and evening. Oddly enough, the London air gives a nicer sunset because of the atmospheric pollution, or so I've read.

A tripod is a must. Bracketing is also nice, the sun actually sets or rises rather more quickly that you think it does and bracketing will help ensure you get a good range of exposures.

Scout out what you want to have in the sunrise/sunset before hand. This might be a little extreme, but it helps if you want a particular landmark captured as well.

A warm jacket, you'd be surprised how cold it can get in the mornings, esp in Autumn and Spring when the sunrise is later.

You might want to go as far as seeing what angle the sun will rise from. Yes, we know it rises in the East, but in relation to where you will be shooting from, and if you want a particular landmark in the scene, knowing where the sun rises makes a lot of difference. This, of course, is governed by the time of the year. I have a compass in by camera bag just in case I want to know roughly where East and West are. I've even gone as far as looking up web sites to find out where the sun rises for a given Long and Lat.

When I went on holiday to Marrakech, I scouted out the Menara Gardens from Google Maps and from some random meteorological web site I found out roughly what angle the sun would rise from. This meant that I knew before I even got there where I should be positioned. This was a little extreme, but I had time on my hands.

Here are some pics I've taken:

This is that shot of the Menara Gardens in Marrakech.

Take a compass so you know just where the sun will be at sunrise & sunset.

Book For Night Photography

so do you guys meter on the sun then have the foreground dark?

is there a way to have the foreground lighter? since i do get a good shot of the colors of the setting sun but the foreground is really dark. is there a way to have the sun and the foreground be seen?

thanks

johnj2803 wrote in post #8022307
so do you guys meter on the sun then have the foreground dark?

is there a way to have the foreground lighter? since i do get a good shot of the colors of the setting sun but the foreground is really dark. is there a way to have the sun and the foreground be seen?

thanks

Graduated ND filters are very useful to balance a bright sky with darker foreground and expose both correctly. Exposure bracketing followed by manual blending or HDR is another approach.

There's heaps of useful info here and on the net about the above.

Here's an example using a 4-stop hard-edge grad filter:

Great shots and examples Chris and Waiman.

I also like the recommendation of geographical location - picking the ideal headland to aim for dependent on the direction of sun etc.

Latest example is a few days ago, I was up at 3:30am, into London to shoot the O2 Dome/Sunrise, knowing where the best spot would be by looking at google maps.

Wazza wrote in post #8025532
Great shots and examples Chris and Waiman.

I also like the recommendation of geographical location - picking the ideal headland to aim for dependent on the direction of sun etc.

Latest example is a few days ago, I was up at 3:30am, into London to shoot the O2 Dome/Sunrise, knowing where the best spot would be by looking at google maps.

Thanks Warren. Coincidentally I was just looking at your Muriwai shots on Flickr, and then your wedding photos on your website before I read your reply! Very nice shots!

What's the best way of finding out exactly where the sun will rise/set, depending on the time of year?

blackcap wrote in post #8025462
Graduated ND filters are very useful to balance a bright sky with darker foreground and expose both correctly. Exposure bracketing followed by manual blending or HDR is another approach.

There's heaps of useful info here and on the net about the above.

Here's an example using a 4-stop hard-edge grad filter:

I had to blend in the cliffs on the left from another exposure as the grad filter darkened them too much.

I am sorry, I am new to all of this as well. Did the way the picture came out nice and lighted come from your filter? Or was there alot of PP involved, I LOVE this shot. Could you send me a link to one of these filters you were discussing, I have a few good sunrise/sunset pictures I like, but I would like to have something like this come out a tad bit better instead of grainy

HDR is something I would like to get into once I get used to my camera, but for now, I want to take this shot below but I just want it to be more colorful and a good bit sharper, it was probably in settings but I am sure that filter could help me out

Nice shots of sunset and sunrise (Only if I could spell that properly)

AprilArchambeau wrote in post #8026408
I am sorry, I am new to all of this as well. Did the way the picture came out nice and lighted come from your filter? Or was there alot of PP involved, I LOVE this shot. Could you send me a link to one of these filters you were discussing, I have a few good sunrise/sunset pictures I like, but I would like to have something like this come out a tad bit better instead of grainy

Here is the unprocessed version of this pic (RAW converted to JPG):

AprilArchambeau wrote in post #8026408
HDR is something I would like to get into once I get used to my camera, but for now, I want to take this shot below but I just want it to be more colorful and a good bit sharper, it was probably in settings but I am sure that filter could help me out

For this photo, a grad filter isn't really suitable because you don't have a straight horizon. Therefore you really need to take multiple exposures and then blend them manually or use HDR if you want the foreground correctly exposed.

Having said that, this won't help with sharpness. If you are having sharpness issues, then it's either a limiation with your camera/lens, a misfocus, or some camera shake. Graininess can be caused by a high ISO, or underexposure.

I am not all into the HDR yet, although I hope to be within a few months. Anywho, I just want to be able to take the shot above and it look a tad better, it was all in settings I am sure, but would you recommend me getting the filter you mentioned above? And what type of setting should I use it in?

aren't there settings where PP is not involved?